April 10, 1925 – December 8, 2009
The Rev. John Rogers Davis died in Santa Fe on Tuesday, December 8, 2009. He was fortunate to die quickly from a stroke, with family members by his side. In his last years, as he had throughout his life, he shed a warm light on his family, friends and parishioners as a gifted conversationalist, great reader, and humanist. He had a powerful influence on many who knew him, both as a priest and as a friend. All appreciated his remarkable imagination and delight in the world around him. He loved his gardens, and was passionate about the “works of men’s hands” of all periods and cultures. Although an Episcopal priest, his spiritual life embraced all religions.
Born in Pasadena, California on April 10, 1925, he graduated from Stanford University in l947. He earned a master’s degree in classical archeology from the same institution (1948) and a Bachelor of Divinity from the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, MA in 1952. In the same year, he married Marilyn Alice Coverley and was ordained into the Episcopal Church as a deacon at St. Luke’s, Long Beach, CA. He was ordained a priest the following year, and served as curate, and later rector to a number of churches in California and Arizona. John was also Superintendent of the Good Shepard Mission at Fort Defiance, AZ on the Navajo Reservation. In 1967 he became rector of St. Michael and All Angels at Corona del Mar, Calif., where he served until his retirement in 1987. He spent the last two decades of his life mainly in Santa Fe.
He is survived by his ex-wife, Marilyn; and four children: Robert Andrew of Santa Fe, Rebecca Anne of Auburn, AL, Lydia Hasbrouck Mertens of Sebastopol, CA , and Benjamin Kaylor of Nairobi, Kenya; as well as eight grandchildren, and others upon whom he leaves the imprint of his curiosity, his erudition, and his blessing.
A Requiem Mass will be held at Holy Faith Episcopal Church in Santa Fe on Monday, December 14, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the “Send Alejandro to Washington Fund.” Alejandro is a sixth grader, and a friend, who has been selected to attend the Junior National Young Leaders Conference. Send a check to Andrew Davis at PO Box 1354, Santa Fe NM 87504 with a note indicating it is a contribution to the fund.
From the Santa Fe New Mexican